Product Princess Journal / Pricing
Stop Discounting Before You Diagnose the Problem.
A lower price can create movement. It cannot tell you why the product was not moving in the first place.
When sales are slow, discounting feels like the easiest lever to pull.
Take 10% off.
Run a weekend sale.
Add a coupon.
Bundle it.
Mark it down.
And sometimes, yes, a promotion can absolutely help.
But before you change the price, you need to know what problem you are actually trying to solve.
Because if the real issue is poor messaging, weak photography, the wrong audience, low trust, unclear value, or a confusing offer, lowering the price may create a temporary bump without fixing anything underneath.
That is not strategy.
That is relief.
Discounting is feedback but only if you pay attention.
If your product only moves when it is discounted, that is useful information.
But do not stop at:
“People want it cheaper.”
Ask why.
Maybe the regular price feels too high for the category.
Maybe the brand does not look premium enough to support the price.
Maybe the customer does not understand the difference between your product and a cheaper alternative.
Maybe the product is good, but the offer feels weak.
Maybe customers simply need more proof.
A discount can reveal resistance.
Your job is to understand the resistance.
Do not solve every problem with price.
This is where product businesses can train themselves into trouble.
Sales slow down.
Discount.
Traffic dips.
Discount.
Inventory builds.
Discount.
A launch underperforms.
Discount.
Before long, customers start waiting for the sale.
Why would they buy today when they know another code is probably coming next week?
You accidentally teach them that the listed price is not the real price.
That is a very difficult habit to undo.
Ask what is actually broken.
Before you discount, look at the whole customer journey.
Are enough people seeing the product?
Are the right people seeing it?
Does the photography make it look worth the price?
Is the value clear?
Does the customer understand what makes it different?
Is the website easy to trust?
Are shipping costs creating friction?
Is the product page answering the obvious questions?
Is there social proof?
Are there too many choices?
Is the offer compelling?
That is diagnosis.
And diagnosis gives you a much better chance of fixing the actual problem.
Sometimes the price really is wrong.
And that is okay too.
Not every pricing issue is a marketing issue.
Sometimes the market is telling you very clearly that the product is overpriced.
If you consistently hear:
“I love it, but not at that price.”
If comparable products are significantly lower.
If customers understand the value and still hesitate at the same point.
If conversion improves dramatically at a lower price.
Then yes, pricing deserves a closer look.
But change it because the evidence supports the decision.
Not because you panicked on a slow Tuesday afternoon. 😂
Protect the value of the brand.
Frequent discounting does more than affect margin.
It affects perception.
If you are building a premium product brand, constant markdowns can quietly undermine everything else you are trying to communicate.
You want the customer thinking:
“This is worth the price.”
Not:
“I’ll wait until it is cheaper.”
That does not mean you can never run a promotion.
Promotions can be useful.
Seasonal offers.
Bundles.
Customer appreciation.
Launch incentives.
Inventory clear-outs.
Strategic campaigns.
All of those can make sense.
The key word is:
Strategic.
Try adding value before removing price.
Before discounting, ask if there is another way to strengthen the offer.
Could you:
Bundle products?
Include shipping?
Add a useful bonus?
Improve the product photography?
Explain the value more clearly?
Show customer reviews?
Demonstrate how the product is used?
Create urgency around limited inventory?
Improve packaging?
Sometimes the customer does not need a cheaper product.
They need a clearer reason to buy the product at the price you already set.
Know your numbers before you touch the price.
This part is not glamorous, but it matters.
If you discount, know what happens to your margin.
Know how many more units you need to sell to make the same amount of money.
Know whether the promotion is actually profitable.
Know whether advertising still works at the new margin.
A sale that creates lots of orders but very little profit is not automatically a successful sale.
Revenue can look exciting while the business underneath it gets weaker.
The Product Princess takeaway
Do not reach for a discount simply because sales feel slow.
Pause.
Look.
Ask questions.
Find the friction.
Then decide what lever actually needs to move.
Maybe it is price.
Maybe it is messaging.
Maybe it is photography.
Maybe it is trust.
Maybe it is the offer.
Maybe it is the audience.
But diagnose first.
Because a discount should be a decision.
Not a reflex. 👑